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| source// wwe.com |
Every year, fans predict the worst for WrestleMania. Whether it’s the underwhelming selection of matches, the weeks of lacklustre creative or just a general sense of disappointment in the product – all ‘Manias seemingly suffer from this lethargy.
But what of the quickly impending WrestleMania 32?
An influx of gifted wrestlers has allowed WWE to boast its most talented roster ever. However, as has been proved countless times, talent does not equal success for adept performers. Being equipped with the skills to succeed is one thing, being afforded the opportunity is another.
That lack of opportunity and execution has resulted in WWE’s poor booking of storylines falling firmly under the microscope.
Despite WWE’s best efforts to scrap together an intriguing card worthy of a WrestleMania show, the creative staff have failed to produce an exciting build-up to the Showcase of the Immortals…
10. League Of Nations Challenging The New Day
WWE’s tag team division isn’t exactly flourishing outside of The New Day, but surely there were better options for Tag Team Championship contenders than the League of Nations.
Admittedly, the predicted four-on-three stipulation adds an intriguing twist to traditional tag title matches; however, not only is the League of Nations less compelling than a viewing of your nan’s shaky digital camera pictures from a trip to Florence, we’ve basically seen it before.
Following two different combinations of LoN members challenging for the Tag Team Titles at Fastlane and the following Raw respectively, we are basically being provided with the same old song and dance in a different format. Think of it as a remix of Soulja Boy’s song ‘Hurricane’: it might be a new variation, but it’s still a steaming pile of manure.
To make matters worse, the League of Nations have already come up short twice in this lackluster series – why would a third match be any better?
9. AJ Styles/Chris Jericho Has Been Done To Death
In theory, WrestleMania is all about WWE putting together the best possible card each year to put on a series of fantastic matches designed to end enticing feuds. There would be no problem with AJ Styles and Chris Jericho battling it out at the Show of Shows except it has already been done. Three times.
It’s clear that Chris Jericho’s return to the WWE was a ploy to help put AJ Styles over with a wider audience, and the company deserves kudos for managing to do just that. The problem is that we have reached the point where neither party can benefit from the series continuing.
AJ Styles officially challenging Chris Jericho to an emotionless crowd reaction on the latest episode of Raw is clear proof that the audience has lost interest, and you can’t blame them.
The two will undoubtedly put on a great display of wrestling yet again in their WrestleMania match, but it will feel like an exhibition now that the story has already been told. Alternatively, the feud should have started a month later with WrestleMania 32 acting as the deciding contest.
The third match in the series at Fastlane, won by AJ Styles, should have marked the end of this particular rivalry, as the pair have little more they can do together. It was an enjoyable story, but it’s over – WWE is flogging a dead horse with a stick and it’s infuriating.
8. Does The United States Championship Even Exist Anymore?
WWE made a concerted effort to regain the prestige of its minor singles championships when Daniel Bryan and John Cena won the Intercontinental and United States Championships respectively at WrestleMania 31. While it’s unfortunate that Bryan’s reign and career was cut short, the United States Championship had become a true feature of WWE programming as a result of smart booking.
It’s a stark contrast just one year down the line, especially when it comes to the US Title which may as well not exist. In the space of a few months, the prestigious title has been demoted from being a weekly attraction as part of John Cena’s United States Open Challenge to hardly been seen on Raw in the lead-up to WrestleMania 32.
Kalisto’s matches with Alberto Del Rio since John Cena’s initial absence were enough to keep fans interested, but the flip-flopping of short reigns between the pair has resulted in the US Title becoming little more than a footnote once again.
Factor in Kalisto’s slow-moving, dull-as-can-be rivalry with Ryback, apparently culminating in a WrestleMania bout, and you’ve got a recipe for world class boredom. This should never be the case when a championship is at stake, especially before WWE biggest event of the year.
7. The Intercontinental Championship Cluster Of Stupidity
Oh lord, where to begin?
Kevin Owens regaining the Intercontinental Championship ahead of Fastlane opened up a plethora of options for WWE to pursue, with singles feuds between Owens and AJ Styles or Sami Zayn speculated. The latter would especially make for a must-see attraction given their top quality matches around the world and unfinished business in NXT.
What appeared to be the alternative of a Fatal Four-Way between Owens, Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and The Miz was also acceptable given each performer’s individual track record. Considering their frequent interactions in the past month, the match made total sense.
Instead, WWE is replicating the seven-man Intercontinental Title Ladder Match from WrestleMania 31 – not the worst idea – by inexplicably throwing Stardust, Sin Cara and Zack Ryder into the mix – the worst idea – diluting the potential for meaningful altercations between the initial quartet.
If the match doesn’t turn out to be memorable, WWE is in for some serious backlash for ruining what could have been a show-stealing contest.
6. Brock Lesnar Appears Beatable
Having been eliminated cheaply in the Royal Rumble and being a non-factor in the Fastlane Triple Threat main event, Brock Lesnar’s status as an unbeatable wrecking ball is up for debate.
Those two booking decisions alone are enough to throw two years of work out the window, with the man who ended The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak now being reduced to a midcard match with Dean Ambrose that is poised to go in favour of The Lunatic Fringe. In fact, it’s expected at this point.
The focus of the feud has been entirely on Dean Ambrose with Lesnar only working limited dates, which would be fine if the perception that Ambrose has no chance still existed. Even Lesnar’s countless beatings of Ambrose in the past two months are not enough to undo the damage of the two instances of poor writing.
It was acceptable for Lesnar to disappear for weeks and even months at a time a year ago because he truly was a special attraction. Even after losing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, The Beast Incarnate was still made to look like a freak of nature.
Now he comes off as some muscular guy living a false reality in the build-up to a match with a star babyface.
5. No Wyatt Family, Especially Bray Wyatt
For WWE to not have Bray Wyatt, the man who challenged The Undertaker at last year’s WrestleMania, featuring in a prominent feud – or even on the card – is mind-boggling to say the least.
WWE has reportedly cooled off Bray Wyatt despite his undeniable popularity, continuing to allow a man who has been billed as The New Face of Fear to be criminally underutilised.
By all reports, plans from just two months ago outlined Braun Strowman facing The Undertaker at the Show of Shows before fan backlash stopped the program dead in its tracks. Bray Wyatt was also reportedly scheduled to face Brock Lesnar, and even had a brush with WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H on Raw. This indicates WWE still has some faith in the Wyatt Family, making their exclusion from the Showcase of the Immortals an even bigger oversight.
It’s reassuring that Bray Wyatt will seemingly find a position at WrestleMania 32, having recently cut a cryptic promo teasing an interaction with Brock Lesnar (“What would a beast be without his teeth?”, Undertaker (“What would a reaper be without a soul to take?” or Triple H (“What would a king be without his crown?”).
However, such a prominent figure with sensational microphone skills like Wyatt would have given substance to what is a very shallow WrestleMania card if given a cemented position in the six-week build-up.
4. Shane McMahon Taking The Place Of A Future Star
Admittedly, not all the blame can be placed on WWE for Shane McMahon being the selected opponent for The Undertaker given the small army of injured performers. WWE needed a big-name opponent for ‘Taker at Mania and the return of Shane McMahon created just that.
However, it can’t be denied that Shane-O-Mac is a last resort and arguably not a good one. Shane hasn’t had a sanctioned match since 2009 and is likely a one-off performer, taking away the possibility for a future star to be put over by The Undertaker in the twilight of his career.
There is no reason why a budding wrestler could not have taken Shane McMahon’s place. In fact, smart booking could have allowed Shane McMahon to return and have ‘Taker fight in his name against a heel of Vince McMahon’s choosing.
In what is likely The Undertaker’s penultimate WrestleMania – a program with John Cena for WrestleMania 33 is expected – WWE has blow an opportunity to prepare for the future. Shane-O-Mac and The Phenom will provide an enjoyable match with major implications, but the shelf life of both participants is limited.
3. Dean Ambrose/Triple H Derailed 2 Major Rivalries
With Roman Reigns temporarily on the sidelines due to nasal surgery and Brock Lesnar working limited dates, it made sense for Triple H and Dean Ambrose to engage in a feud instead of twiddling their thumbs. However, the timing of their contest has completely thrown off two major rivalries heading into WrestleMania 32.
Dean Ambrose challenging Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was undoubtedly a match the fans wanted to see, and regardless of how enjoyable the pair’s bout at Roadblock was, forcing a demanded feud into two free weeks has had a severe negative impact on two major WrestleMania storylines. The lack of a follow-up to the incredible match is frustrating enough without these ramifications.
Not only has WWE given away what could have easily been a two-month story in the space of those two weeks, both the Reigns-Triple H and Ambrose-Lesnar feuds have needed to be rebuilt from scratch, creating a feeling of disjointedness that should have been avoided.
2. Roman Reigns/Triple H Feud Has No Substance
The feud between Roman Reigns and Triple H has become a cluster of drawn-out repetitiveness since it kicked off in November, with both Reigns and Triple H being written off TV for extended periods of time due to savage beatdowns from the other. When fans asked for Reigns to shut up and fight more often, they didn’t mean for Reigns to only shut up and fight.
Aside from the Ambrose-Triple H match mentioned in the previous entry, WWE has failed to deliver in the lead-up. Reigns’ hiatus due to essential nasal surgery didn’t help, but having the only interactions between The Game and Roman Reigns be back-and-forth beatdowns is a big mistake.
The feeling that Roman Reigns will inevitably win has nothing to do with this rivalry feeling empty; last year’s main event between Reigns and Brock Lesnar was much the same in the lead-up, but the feud between the pair at least had substance. The WrestleMania 31 main event was built up through a mixture of both physical and verbal confrontations, unlike this year’s headliner.
As a result of relying on little more than choppy beatings, the marquee match’s purpose has been lost. WWE will hopefully revisit the reason behind the feud in the final episode of Raw before WrestleMania 32, but it’s too late to force fans into being excited.
1. Not Explaining The Undertaker’s Forced Involvement
You’d be hard pressed to find a complaint about The Undertaker being involved at any given WrestleMania so long as it makes sense. Yes, the Hell in a Cell match between Shane McMahon and ‘Taker is going to be fun to watch on face value alone, but why on earth is it happening?
WWE has had four opportunities to elaborate on The Undertaker’s forced pairing with Vince McMahon since son Shane’s astonishing return and each time the company has failed to do so, despite dedicating multiple segments to building up the contest.
Rather than formulating a logical reason fuelling The Dead Man’s involvement, the only explanation we have been provided with is because Undertaker is supposedly Vince’s “bitch”. That’s what we have to hang our hat on. Great.
WWE has built Shane’s involvement exceptionally well, but to completely neglect the most famed wrestler in WrestleMania history of a viable backstory is a slap in the face to the viewers. For all we know, The Undertaker is just there because he has to be, half-arsing the program and looking like that one dad at the playground all the other parents are wary of instead of The Reaper of Souls we all love.
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